Joseph Chaires Plantation was a large
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
of located in southern
Leon County,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, United States owned by Joseph Chaires.
Location
The Joseph Chaires Plantation's northern border was located at the southeast tip of
Lake Lafayette
Lake Lafayette is a Prairie Lake, prairie lake located in the coastal lowland in eastern Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida with U.S. Route 27 in Florida, US 27 / State Road 20 (Florida), State Road 20 running close on its south side.
History
P ...
. The property extended southward across Old St. Augustine Road. Today that land encompasses part of
U.S. 27, Louvinia Drive,
County Road 2197 (Williams Road),
County Road 2196 (Old St. Augustine Road),
County Road 2195 (WW Kelly Drive) as far south as
County Road 259 (Tram Road) near Lake Erie and Big Lake.
Plantation specifics
The Leon County Florida 1860 Agricultural Census shows that the Joseph Chaires Plantation had the following:
* Improved Land:
* Unimproved Land:
* Cash value of plantation:
$50,000
* Cash value of farm implements/machinery: $150
* Cash value of farm animals: $6,500
* Number of persons enslaved: 130
* Bushels of corn: 5000
* Bales of cotton: 200
The owner
Joseph Chaires was the son of
Benjamin Chaires and cousin of Green Chaires.
References
Rootsweb Plantations1845 voters
*Paisley, Clifton; ''From Cotton To Quail'', University of Florida Press, c1968.
{{coord, 30.426, -84.166, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-FL, display=title
Plantations in Leon County, Florida
Cotton plantations in Florida